darkwoodfandomcom-20200223-history
Banshee
Banshees are aggressive creatures in Darkwood. They mostly appear during the night in the hideout the Protagonist is hiding in, although they can be found in different locations in the Swamp at day too, for example, the Ruins. Banshees look like large, humanoid birds. A banshee's arrival is preceded by a distant, high-pitched scream and a flock of Crows flying over the Hideout. Their footsteps are very heavy, making them easy to hear moving around the hideout. Making eye-contact with a Banshee causes the screen to flash violently with a visage of their faces. The Banshee boasts a uniquely dangerous and indirect set of abilities. While they do not have any direct attacks, if they get close to the Protagonist, or if the player attempts to attack them, banshees spread their wings and emit an ear-ringing shriek sound that causes the screen to shake momentarily. This is no ordinary scream as it will temporarily disable all the light sources in the hideout and incinerate the Banshee itself: from its corpse (which yields no items and quickly degrades in black soot) emerge several Banshee Babies. In a special Night Event, a non-hostile Banshee will appear in or close to the Dry Meadow Hideout and, when approached, will leave behind a ? (Item). This item is possible a newborn Baby Banshee, or a fetus of one. In addition to that, a non-hostile Banshee can be found seemingly crying over dead Banshee Babies at the Radio Tower. Another night event exclusive to the Dry Meadow Hideout will cause a Banshee to spawn but instead of trying to find the Protagonist it will attempt to aggressively breach the hideout, and if successful, this can leave inexperienced players at the hands of other inhabitants of the woods. Strategy * As attacking a Banshee has the same negative effects as letting them come in contact, trying to kill them is pointless. Banshees should instead be avoided altogether by trying to remain mobile; temporarily exiting the Hideout to evade them is viable, but should be a last resort because of the risk of being attacked by the Floor Gore. * If a Banshee manages to shriek, it's a good idea to drop down a Flare to light the area while waiting for the lamps to turn back on. * The Banshee can warp over traps and fire, but since it lacks the ability to attack directly, it has no way of bypassing barricades. A fully barricaded part of the Hideout is completely impervious to Banshees unless other enemies destroy a barricade and grant them access. * If there's no way to avoid the Banshee coming in close enough to shriek, it's best to use Gas Bottles for area denial against the Banshee Babies. They cover a larger area without the inherent risks of Molotov Cocktails, and Babies are weak enough for the gas cloud to be fatal to them. * One out of two times, walking up to a wall and facing toward the wall in desperation will cause banshee to stop pursuing the player. Trivia * Prior to Darkwood Alpha 7.2, Banshees summoned Red Chompers instead of Banshee Babies. * Like most creature of the Darkwood, Banshee appear to be created from human beings: not only their bodies have more in common with men than with true avians, but a screaming and contorted human face can be seen when they open their beak to shriek. * There is a shrine, or ritualistic circle, that can be found by in the woods behind the Radio Tower. It has a human body with a Crow/Raven on its face. This seems to be related to the creation of Banshees. Gallery File:banshee.jpg File:bansheetrueface.JPG